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You don’t need a splash page

Rik Logtenberg on Oct 04, 2006

"Splash pages are the pages that the user sees before they actually get to a website; typically, they're flash and offer some kind of introductory animation. The user clicks "Skip Intro" or "Enter Site" and from there is taken to the site." Here is a good article on why splash pages can be a bad thing.

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How much time should I spend on Internet Marketing?

Rik Logtenberg on Oct 02, 2006

Over the last 10 years, thousands of companies have spent hundreds - of - thousands of hours experimenting with search engine optimization. Thankfully, the results and opinions have been openly shared among Internet marketers and has formed into something close to knowledge. Of course, every time Google or Yahoo changes their code that determines their page-ranks, some of that knowledge becomes obsolete. The core principles, thankfully, do not change...

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Communication Counts in Online Customer Relations

Rik Logtenberg on Sep 24, 2006

"If visitors to your Web site become annoyed, it is very easy for them to broadcast their irritation: They are already online!

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Design Issues with the new IE7 Browser

Rik Logtenberg on Sep 23, 2006

Here's a brief look at some problems with the new Internet Explorer Browers (IE7), spotlighting some areas and features that may pose problems to developers, as well as tools available to help with application development. This is a pretty technical article but it might help you understand some of the problems that your web site might be forced to deal with.

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An Intro to CRM

Rik Logtenberg on Sep 11, 2006

Wikipedia has a great article on customer relationship management (CRM), which is gaining a lot more attention these days. Wireless is everywhere, so why can't we use the Internet to store our company contacts, manage our group scheduling, and handle our customer support? Well, there's no good reason why not, and hundreds of reasons why it makes sense to think about this for your business. This article will get you started on understanding the basics.

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Usability 101: Introduction to Usability

Rik Logtenberg on Sep 06, 2006

Although he can be criticised for not always practicing what he preaches, Jakob Nielsen is still one of the gurus of usability. In this introduction to usability he explains what usability is and why you should care.

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21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic

Rik Logtenberg on Aug 31, 2006

Here's a great list that describes some common-sense techniques for increasing visitor traffic to your weblog. A lot of these suggestions apply to websites in general, so even if you haven't yet blogged, it's worth a read.

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Your Digital Wallet - Near Field Communications

Rik Logtenberg on Aug 24, 2006

With new technology called near-field communications, you could use a cell phone to make purchases, or even download a movie trailer from a poster. Check out this article about near-field communications to learn more.

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How to ruin a web design

Rik Logtenberg on Aug 23, 2006

I appreciate when clients come to me with their ideas, but once I start work, I prefer they not get too involved. But how do I say this without sounding insulting?

When too many people get involved in the creative process, especially modifying and tweaking a design, they usually create something horrendous: originality and cohesion are sacrificed for a bland pastiche of blinking graphics and sloppy markup.

Here’s a great article that describes the inverse relationships in web design between time and number of “designers” involved and quality of the final product.

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Branding Your Site

Rik Logtenberg on Aug 14, 2006

Are you trying to figure out how to increase your website's profile in your online niche market? Here's some good tips on how to brand your site like a pro.

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Service Driven Companies Make More Money

Rik Logtenberg on Aug 01, 2006

Recent surveys suggest that companies who place customer relations as their top priority are able to charge up to 9% more for the goods and services they offer and grow twice as fast as the average.

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Say goodbye to Microsoft Word

Rik Logtenberg on Jul 31, 2006

For those of you still using Microsft Word and Excel, you have our sympathies. These programs cost you money; they force you to save your documents to one computer and make copies if you want to share your document you have to make multiple copies. Word and Excel make collaboration on writing and spreadsheets awkward, if not impossible. 

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The Daily Show introduction to online social networking.

Rik Logtenberg on Jul 05, 2006

First, here's the clip: Daily Show Take on MySpace. I found this clip through Digg.com (which makes a hat-trick of primo Internet/pop culture references). If you've never heard of myspace.com or online social networking, this is a great introduction.

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Building your website for less abled users

Rik Logtenberg on Jul 03, 2006

This article about usability from webpronews.com asks "Given the many excellent reasons to make provisions for disabled users when creating a web site, why do so many professionals in the web design industry ignore this important facet of the online community?"

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Net Neutrality: This is serious

Rik Logtenberg on Jun 24, 2006

Here's a blog posting from the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners Lee on what might become the most important political issue to ever face the Internet - Net Neutrality.

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9 Ways to Misunderstand Web Standards

Rik Logtenberg on Jun 24, 2006

There are a lot of reasons to be in favour of web standards - they ensure that your web site is more accessible, easier to manage and, usually, faster to download. But there are many misconceptions about how to apply web standards when creating a web site. Here's a good article about 9 Ways to Misunderstand Web Standards.

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The Devil’s Guide to Google

Rik Logtenberg on Jun 21, 2006

Ever wonder how spammers make money? Here's a great 10-step list on how to become a spam king, without ever sending an email.

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Hiding in Plain Sight, Google Seeks More Power

Rik Logtenberg on Jun 14, 2006

On the banks of the windswept Columbia River, Google is working on a secret weapon in its quest to dominate the next generation of Internet computing. But it is hard to keep a secret when it is a computing center as big as two football fields, with twin cooling plants protruding four stories into the sky.

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Goodbye eBay, here comes GBuy

Rik Logtenberg on Jun 12, 2006

Google is preparing to launch a system for handling online transactions. The system will compete with EBay's popular PayPal system providing a "free" system for online transactions.

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Speech recognition improving customer service

Rik Logtenberg on Jun 06, 2006

Natural language speech recognition is markedly improving voice-activated self-service. Powered by artificial intelligence, these speech-recognition systems are altering consumer perceptions about phone self-service, as calls for help no longer elicit calls for help. That, in turn, is spurring renewed corporate interest in the concept of phone self-service. In 2004, sales of voice self-service systems topped $1.2 billion.

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